Tony Wroten

Western Notes: Grizzlies, Thompson, Suns

The Grizzlies allowed a trade exception worth $1,160,040 to expire when they failed to use it by the end of Friday. Memphis had created the exception in the deal that sent Tony Wroten to the Sixers a year ago. It’s the second trade exception that the Grizzlies have let lapse in the past week or so, after their $1,027,424 Donte Greene trade exception expired on the 15th.

Here’s more from out west:

  •  Mychal Thompson discussed the trade rumors this summer regarding his son, Klay Thompson. Thompson was rumored to be a key piece for the Wolves in any deal involving Kevin Love heading the Warriors. The elder Thompson said, “He was put on the table by the owner and the general manager. Jerry West and Steve Kerr pulled him off the deal,” tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
  • The elder Thompson also told Leung (Twitter link), that he thought the Warriors would land Love. “I really thought [Joe] Lacob the owner was just going to veto everybody’s opinion,” Thompson said.
  • After their surprise success last season, very little has gone right for the Suns this offseason, writes Bob Young of the Arizona Republic. Young chronicles the franchise’s difficulties this summer, including the contract impasse with Eric Bledsoe; the failure to land Love; losing Channing Frye in free agency; and P.J. Tucker‘s arrest.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Pierce, Raptors, Chandler

Today, Adam Silver stated (Twitter link) he would be willing to consider removing divisions from the NBA. If the NBA does so we will no longer be able to claim the Atlantic Division as the most talked about division in the NBA. Until then, the Atlantic Division has made headlines all season with the Nets and Knicks struggles. Those headlines have increased of late with the Raptors and Sixers being active in the early trade market. Looking further into these rumors:

  • Thaddeus Young‘s name has once more emerged in trade talk, this time in reference to an Omer Asik deal, but the Sixers forward continues to pay little attention to the chatter, as he tells Christopher A. Vito of the Delaware County Daily Times. John Finger of CSNPhilly.com explains how this trade would work.
  • Sixers offseason acquisition Tony Wroten has played well in place of Michael Carter-Williams, but he seems interested in retaining a starting role long term, which could pose a dilemma for Philadelphia, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News explains.
  • Paul Pierce thinks he could return from his broken hand for Tuesday’s match up with the Celtics, and today he addressed the emotions of perhaps facing his former team as well as his continued faith in the Nets. The 36-year-old also dismissed talk of retiring in the near future. Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com has the details.
  • Following the blockbuster Rudy Gay trade, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun explains what the road ahead looks like for GM Masai Ujiri and the Raptors. Wolstat adds the Raptors may be realizing how important it is to get in the top of the lottery for next year’s draft especially with fellow Canadian Andrew Wiggens atop that draft.
  • Projecting the next few years for Rudy Gay, Tom Ziller of SBNation compares what the Raptors gave up to acquire Gay versus what the Kings gave up to acquire Gay ten months later. Ziller points out that although the Kings gave up much less than the Raptors did, they will be the loser in this trade in the coming years.
  • With the 4-6 week timetable approaching for Knicks‘ center Tyson Chandler to return from his fractured leg, Chandler told reporters this morning he expects to be in the lineup before New Year’s Day. Royce Young of CBSSports.com describes what his return will mean for the Knicks’ rotation.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

76ers Exercise Options On Moultrie, Wroten

The Sixers have guaranteed a pair of salaries for the 2014/15 season, having exercised their options on Arnett Moultrie and Tony Wroten, according to RealGM.com’s transactions log. Neither 2012 draftee had a particularly strong rookie campaign, but their salaries will only add about $2.35MM in guaranteed money to Philadelphia’s ’14/15 books.

Moultrie, 22, played well (16.7 PER) when he saw the court in his rookie season, but only averaged 11.5 MPG in 47 contests. He’ll earn $1.14MM in his third year. Wroten, meanwhile, was traded to the Sixers by the Grizzlies in August, essentially for nothing but the cap savings. He should get a chance to earn a larger role in Philadelphia this season, before getting a salary bump to about $1.21MM in 2014/15.

The Sixers now have five players on guaranteed contracts for ’14/15, plus Jason Richardson, who has a $6.6MM player option that will certainly be exercised if he’s not bought out.

Sixers Acquire Tony Wroten From Grizzlies

August 29th: The league has officially approved the trade, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer

August 22nd: The second-round pick going to Memphis will be heavily protected and may never change hands, a source tells Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

1:29pm: A week after acquiring a 2012 first-round pick from the Celtics, the Grizzlies have sent their own 2012 first-rounder to Philadelphia. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies have traded Tony Wroten to the Sixers in exchange for a future second-round pick.

Wroten, 20, was selected 25th in last year's draft by the Grizzlies, but appeared in just 35 games for the team in his rookie season, playing limited minutes. In 11 contests for the D-League's Reno Bighorns, the University of Washington product averaged 17.0 PPG, but didn't shoot particularly well (.415/.326/.548).

Like Fab Melo, who the Grizzlies acquired from Boston, Wroten is viewed as a young player with upside. However, while Memphis was willing to roll the dice on Melo, it seems the team was ready to cut ties with Wroten. The move indicates that the Grizz have confidence in Nick Calathes as their backup point guard behind Mike Conley. Jerryd Bayless is also available to play at the point, though he's more of a combo guard, and Josh Akognon is under contract as well, but has a non-guaranteed deal. Wroten's departure could bode well for Akognon's chances of earning a regular-season roster spot.

The Sixers, meanwhile, had only been carrying 12 contracts (10 guaranteed), and need to add more players if they intend to surpass the league's required salary floor. Wroten's modest salary won't raise team payroll to the minimum threshold, but it's a start. Philadelphia had also been carrying just one point guard (Michael Carter-Williams), so taking a chance on Wroten makes sense for a team not expecting to compete for the playoffs.

Because they still have plenty of cap room, the 76ers able to absorb Wroten's contract without sending out any salary in return. The over-the-cap Grizzlies will create a traded player exception worth Wroten's salary ($1,160,040), the latest in a long list of TPEs for the club. Clearing that salary from their books should also give Memphis a little more breathing room below the luxury tax.

Poll: Fab Melo Vs. Tony Wroten

After a busy month of July in which we saw 13 different trades officially consummated, things have slowed down considerably in August, but we've still seen a pair of deals finalized: The Grizzlies acquired Fab Melo from the Celtics for Donte Greene's non-guaranteed contract and cash, then sent Tony Wroten to the Sixers in exchange for a future second-round pick.

Both Melo and Wroten were drafted a year ago, with Melo going 22nd overall and Wroten going three picks later at No. 25. Neither player contributed much in his rookie season, but not much was expected of either guy right away — Melo was considered a raw project, while Wroten entered the NBA at age 19.

Even so, after a year, both players are already on their second NBA teams. The Celtics had to include $1.66MM in cash to move Melo, though that was more a result of the team's proximity to the tax line than an indicator of the big man's worth. Meanwhile, the second-round pick the Grizzlies acquired in the Wroten deal is heavily protected and may never change hands. In other words, two players drafted in the first round were acquired for virtually nothing just one year later.

Of course, not all first-round picks develop into useful NBA rotation players, but it's probably too early to give up on either Melo or Wroten. So today's poll question is this: Which player would you rather roll the dice on? If your favorite team decided to take a flier on one of the two 2012 first-rounders, would you prefer the former Syracuse center or the ex-Washington guard?

D-League Moves: Dooling, Wroten, Varnado

The biggest D-League news of the day came when the Warriors inked Scott Machado to a 10-day deal, giving the Iona guard another crack in the NBA for the 2012/13 campaign.  We'll keep track of today's call-ups and assignments in this thread.  If you want to take a look back at all of the D-League assignments and recalls from this year, check out Hoops Rumors' running log.  Here's the latest..

  • The Grizzlies announced that they have recalled Keyon Dooling and Tony Wroten from the Reno Bighorns.  Dooling had six points and two steals in his D-League debut.  Wroten, making his fourth D-League appearance of the year, had 30 points and eight assists.
  • The Heat announced that they recalled Jarvis Varnado from the Sioux Falls Skyforce.  Varnado averaged 18.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.75 blocks, and 1.75 steals in his eight game stint.

Grizzlies Send Dooling, Wroten To D-League

We’ll track today’s D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional moves added to the top throughout the day.

  • The Grizzlies have sent point guards Keyon Dooling and Tony Wroten to the D-League’s Reno Bighorns, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Both will be back with Memphis in time for Sunday’s game against the Kings, Tillery adds. The team had to get the consent of Dooling to assign him to the D-League, since he’s a 13th-year veteran and league rules only allow players with less than three years of experience to be assigned freely. Dooling briefly appeared in one game for Memphis this week after the team signed him to take some of the backup point guard burden off Wroten, a rookie.

D-League Moves: Beverley, Wroten, Jones, Joseph

Here are Monday's D-League assignments and recalls, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • After Jeremy Lin sprained his ankle at practice today, the Rockets will recall the recently-signed Patrick Beverley from the D-League, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Since joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Beverley has averaged 13.7 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 6.7 RPG in three contests.
  • After a brief stint with the Reno Bighorns, Tony Wroten has been recalled from the D-League by the Grizzlies, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). Quincy Pondexter is out with a knee injury, and Rudy Gay will miss tonight's game while attending his grandmother's funeral, so Wroten will provide some extra depth for Memphis.
  • Terrence Jones has been recalled from the D-League by the Rockets, tweets Feigen. Jones, 2012's 18th overall pick, had been on his third D-League assignment with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, having averaged 19.2 PPG and 11.0 RPG in nine contests for the club this season.
  • The Spurs have recalled Cory Joseph from their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Joseph was assigned to the Austin Toros back on December 17th for the third time this season. In 14 games with the Toros, Joseph has averaged 20.7 PPG and shot 44.2% from three-point range.

D-League Moves: Melo, Lamb, Wroten

We'll track Friday's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with any additional moves being added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Celtics have re-assigned Fab Melo to their D-League affiliate, the club announced today in a press release. Melo had been recalled from the Maine Red Claws last week to undergo treatment for his concussion from Boston's training staff. It appears he's been cleared to return to action for the Red Claws.
  • Jeremy Lamb has been recalled from the Tulsa 66ers by the Thunder, the team announced today in a press release. In 11 games (all starts) in the D-League this season, Lamb has averaged 21.5 PPG on .422/.295/.909 shooting.
  • The Grizzlies have sent Tony Wroten back to their D-League affiliate, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. For Wroten, the 25th overall pick in last June's draft, it's his third stint this season with the Reno Bighorns. In eight games with the Bighorns, the 19-year-old has averaged 13.6 PPG and 3.8 APG in 24.6 minutes per contest.

D-League Moves: Warriors, Wroten, Samuels

Today's D-League assignments and recalls:

  • Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Tyler continue to bounce back and forth between Golden State and Santa Cruz, having been re-assigned to the D-League by the Warriors. The team announced the move in a press release.
  • The Grizzlies have recalled Tony Wroten from their D-League affiliate, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). The rookie guard had just been sent to the Reno Bighorns last Wednesday.
  • The Cavs announced that they have recalled Samardo Samuels from the D-League's Canton Charge.  Samuels, who turns 24 in January, has seen time in 18 games for Cleveland so far this year.
  • The Mavericks announced today that they have recalled Jared Cunningham from the Texas Legends of the D-League.  During his seven game stint with the Legends he averaged 18.1 points, 3.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 37 minutes per contest.
  • The Hornets announced that they have assigned forward Darius Miller to the D-League's Iowa Energy.  Miller has appeared in 23 games this season for the Hornets, averaging 2.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  New Orleans drafted the 6'8" Kentucky product with the 46th overall pick in the 2012 draft.